Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1887-05-21
THE AMERICAN MASTIFF.
An English View on the Characteristic
Points of This Noble Dog.

lHE AMERICAN Mas IlFF'
An English View on the characteristic
Points of This Noble Dog.
The American maStitf, as it exists to-
day, is an artificial br,ed, whose char
acteristics are maintained only by the
most careful breeding. There is there
fore opportunity for the greatest di-
vcrsity of appearance, all depending
n it does on the selection and crossing
of various strains of blood. This di-
versity shows itself frequently in the
matter of size. The minimum height
allowed by the English Mastitf Club is
twenty-seven inches, The maximum
height of the breed is said to be thirty
four inches, but Il height greater than
t~hirty-onc or ~thirty-two inches is sell
dom attained. The height should be
produced by depth of body, and not by
length of lee. M~asSiycness of frame
should be the first consideration, stat
ure the second, Yet for many years
the one idea of the American breeder
was to obtain height, To get this
he seemed willing TO sacrifice every
characteristic of the breed, introducing
crosses of mongrel blood that have
proved most unfortunate in their eff
fcctS, all the time ignoring the fact
that great height, though desirable, is
not an essential characteristic OF the
maStitf. This seems one of the most
difficult things for the trio to learn. 1t
is not desired that these statements
should be taken as n declaration in IA
vor of small size in the mastiff. The
aim of the breeder should be toward
the largest dog that can be produced
without Il sacrifice of that most yalua-
bic attribute which the breeder calls
type of character. A mastitf twenty
seven inches high should weigh one
hundred and twenty pounds, and one
thirty-two inches high should weigh
one hundred and eighty pounds.
The head is the great point. The
choice lies between Il dog with Il head
like Hero H., or a dog with a head
like Pharaoh. Both types have in this
country their admirers and advocates.
We believe that there has never been
amy authoritative declaration on the
question by amy of the American ken
mel clubs, but we quote an extract from
the points of the mastitr as declared
by the English Mastil Club:
"IIcad-ycrymassiye and short, with
great breadth and depth of skull and
squarcncsS of muzzlc. Expression
lowering. Forehead-broad, flat and
wrinklcd, Muzzlc-,hort, truncatcd,
deep and broad, not tapcring toward
the nose. Jaws-very wide
1t is claimed by some that Il dog of
great size and perfect formation, with
such a head as hal above described, is
contrary to the laws of nature, and
can not be produced, This assertion is
based ON certain scientific analo&icS,
and ON the fact that 50 many of the
broad, ,horl-hcadcd mastiilS are either
small in size or weak in legs. The lat
ter defect, being peculiarly prevalent
in heavy mastils, leads to the impress
sion that the mastif is naturally Il
slow, mwicldy animal; but this is not
true. Strength and agility should be
united in him, and from the present
standpoint there seems to be no good
reason why Il mastiif with a typical
head and of large size should not he
produced as strong and agile as a GER
tain English specimen which was
known to be able to seize in his jaws
the carcass Of Il full-grown sheep and
leap with it over an average stone
wall.
If n dog of short head and massive
size canhot be produced, it would seem
that we must be contcntcd with Il doc
OF smaller size than usually'thought de-
sirablc. or else abandon the mastitf and
construct anew dog in his place. For,
many years ago, before the days of the
EnglishMastiffC Club, Cuyicr,m most careful
of naturalists, wrote that the character
! istirs of the mastitf were ''ShortncSs o
upper jaw, projection of lower jaw be
yond the upper, causing the teeth to be
undershot, height of forehead, dept
and breadth of muZZle and maSSiycnCSE
of head"
OF the three colors which character
lie the mastiil, the red, the brindle an,
the fawn. the last seems to be regarded
in America, as well as in England
with by far the most favor. When tina
grand brindlc Ilford Cromwell was frs
exhibited in this country, it wa
thought that he would turn the fashior
toward his color; but such was not tn
case. and if ont may Judge by the shoN
bench he has not been used much as
sire. Yet, apart from his color, thi
doris one of the best, and in the mind
of some Judges the best mastif in thi
country, llONtNtl, llt blllNllt HdH II
admirers, 1t has been u f~ashionabl
color in the bulldog, and
/ highly priced in those gigantic Gel
/, mans, the Timer dogs, and there seen
to be no real objection to it in the ma
: till. Several of the most famous spec
mems of the breed have been of thi
color. The red is the least desirabl
6 color, and it is quite rare. We call {
/, mind only one specimen in rccen
+ shows, and that Il very Indifferent an
+ nal. One attraction in the fawn-colc
, is the sharp aud effective contrast pre-
duccd with the dense black mark an
ears. The black mark renders essel
tial the dark mastiif cyc-the cy,
y where it is light in color, giving I'll
I dog face an unpleasant, almost sil
, lister, expression Charics c. Marshal
4 IN Harpcr'S MagaziRc.
- -
GAVE UP HIS SPOlLS.